bChapter /bb54 /b

bJESSICA /b

Grayson is already snoring beside me.

I stare at the ceiling, listening to his steady breathing, feeling like the worst person alive, seduced him to get what I needed.

He

called me his Luna. His mate. bAnd /bwhat bdidi /bdoti

“You’re such a bitch, Jessica.*

I turn my head slightly, watching his face in the dim moonlight filtering through the window. He looks so peaceful when he’s sleeping blike /bthis. I trace my finger lightly over his jawline, feeling the scratch of stubble. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, though I’m not sure I mean it.

Carefully, I slide from under his arm, wincing when he stirs. I freeze, holding my breath until his snoring resumes. The clock on his bnightstand /breads 2:17 AM. Perfect. Everyone will be asleep.

*Just find the documents and get out. Nothingplicated.*

Yeah, except for the bomb he dropped about me being his freaking Luna. However, that is tomorrow’s problem.

His desk is in the corner, neat and organized–so typical Grayson. Everything has its ce.

I slip across the room like a shadow, bare feet silent on the floor. The small key I’d spotted earlier–the one he thinks I didn’t notice him using -is taped under the third drawer. ssic hiding spot, Alpha.

The locked drawer slides open, and I start sifting through the files. Most are pack business, territory disputes, things I’d normally care about but not tonight. Then I see it–a thick folder with a red tab. My name.

*Why would he have a separate file on me?*

I nce back at Graysonb, /bstill blissfully unaware, one arm stretched across where I should be. His face twitches in sleep, and for a bsecond/b,! almost put everything back and crawl into bed beside him.

Almost.

The first page makes my stomach drop. “Warrior Program: Final Decisions.” My eyes scan down to find my name with a bold red X beside it.

“DENIED.”

I already knew that but it still hurts the first time.

The next page is worse. It’s a rmendation. From Grayson.

“Despite Jessica Wilkinsons’s persistence, I cannot rmend her for warrior status. Her talents would be better utilized in pack childcare andmunity support. Effective immediately, allbat training will cease, and transition to caretaker role will begin.”

My hands shake so violently that the paper makes a soft crinkling sound. I press it t against the desk, terrified of waking him, even as I feel my world copsing.

Cold betrayal washes over me as I see the date–it was just the night before the Trial.

I p my hand over my mouth as a sob threatens to escape. Tears spill down my cheeks, dropping onto the damning paper.

The worst part is scrawled in his handwriting at the bottom: “Jessica’s determination makes her difficult to reason with. Bet believe she’s still in contention while gradually introducing her to her new role.”

et bher /b

Chapter b54 /b

bMy /bbchest /bbheaves /bbwith /bbsilent /bbsobs/b. bI /bbwant /bbto /bbscream/bb. /bI want bto /bbwake /bbhim /bbup /bband /bbdemand /bbmawers /bI want to tip then purée le bthrow /bbthem /bin his bface/bb. /b

bInstead/bb, /bbI /btake out bmy /bphone and snap pictures of every page, hands trembling so badly I have to retake several shotsi. /i

Behind meb, /bGrayson sights in his sleep and rolls over.

In that moment, I know two things with absolute certainty: I will never be his Luna, and I will never let him decide my bfuture /bagain.

I don’t know how I was able to get out of that ce but I found myself running, the betrayal burning hotter than the tears streaming bdown /bbmy /bface. My fingers fumbled with my phone as I texted Theo.

*Emergency, Edge of woods. Now. Bringing proof.*

I attached the photos, hands still trembling. Part of me wondered why I was running to him of all people. My ex. But he was the only one who wouldn’t sugar–coat things for me.

By the time I reached our old meeting spot, I was sobbing so hard I could barely breathe. Theo was already waiting, phone in hand, face grim in the moonlight.

“Oh, little fox,” he said, using that stupid nickname I used to love. He opened his arms and I crashed into him, hating myself for seekingfort from him but needing someone–anyone–who wasn’t Grayson.

“You’re wrong,” I choked out against his chest. “It wasn’t the council’s decisión. It was Grayson’s idea! He’s been ying me this whole time!”

Theo’s body tensed. He pulled back, looking at me with an expression bI /bcouldn’t quite read.

“Yeah,” he said finally. “I kind of figured.”

It took a second for his words to register.

“You… what?” I stepped back, suddenly cold. “You knew?”

He didn’t deny it. Just shoved his hands in his pockets and had the audacity to shrug. “I had my suspicions.”

“You let me went there and you fucking knew!?” I screamed, rushing at him and shoving him with all my strength. He barely moved. “You watched me train until I bled! You saw what it meant to me!“/

“Would it have made a difference if I told you?” His voice was infuriatingly calm. “You were so wrapped up in him, Jess. So desperate to prove yourself.”

“Don’t you dare make this about him and me,” I snarled. “This is about you lying to my face!”

“Fine.” Theo’s calm facade cracked, something dangerous shing in his eyes. “You want honesty? Here it is. You were never going to make warrior. Never. Not because you’re not strong enoughb, /bbut because you’re too valuable.”

“What are you talking about?”

He stepped closer, his scent–pine and something darker–overwhelming me. “What else did he told you tonight?”

“…”

“I…” My voice catches in my throat as Theo leans in closer, his familiar scent making me dizzy with memories I’d rather bforget/b.

“What did he tell you, little fox?” Theo’s voice drops to that dangerous velvet tone I know too well. “Did our mighty Alpha fina admit what everyone already knows?”

bChapter /b54

bI /bbstep /bbback/bb, /bbbut /bmy bheel /bbhits /ba tree broot/b. bNowhere /bto go. “That bnone /bof byour /bbbusiness /ba

bHis /bbugh /bbis /bblow /bband /bbmocking/bb. /bb“/bbOh/bb, /bbut it is.” bHe /bces one barm /bagainst the tree behind bme/bb, /bbcaging /bbme /bbin /b“see, bragon len bon /bbyou /bbfor /byears. bNot /bjust as another pack member. Not just bas /bba /bwarrior candidate”

b“/bbStop /bbit/bb,/bb” /bbI /bwhisper

“He called you his mate, didn’t he?” Theo’s eyes gleam in the moonlight, predatory and knowing. “That’s why byou ran /bto his bbed /bbtonight/b. That’s why you look sopletely wrecked right now.”

My silence confirms everything. Damn him.

“You know what’s funny?” He traces a finger along my jawline, and I hate that I don’t immediately p it away. “bHe’s /bknown for years. bYears/bb, /bJess. And never said a word.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” His smile is cruel. “Why do you think we broke up? One day, I’m happily dating you, and the next, my Alpha is giving me special assignments on the other side of the territory. Coincidence?”

My mind spins. “He wouldn’t-”

“He did. And now he’s keeping you from warrior training because he can’t stand the thought of his precious mate getting hurtb./bb” /bTheo leans closer, his breath hot against my ear. “You know what’s even funnier? I warned you. Remember? I told you there was a reason you weren’t advancing despite your skills.”

The memory hits me like a punch. Theo, drunk after a bonfirest winter, telling me the system was rigged against me. I’d thought he bwas /bjust being bitter about our breakup.

“So what are you going to do now, little fox?” His fingers tangle in my hair, tugging gently.

“You don’t know anything,” I hiss.

“I know he’s got you wrapped around his finger.” Theo said. “And I know there’s a group of us who’ve had enough of his leadership. We’re nning something, Jess. Something big.”

My blood runs cold. “What are you talking about?”

“A challenge. Not just for Alpha, but for the whole pack structure.” His eyes are fever–bright now. “Grayson’s too traditional. Too stuck in the old ways. We need change.”

“That’s treason,” I whisper, horrified.

“It’s revolution,” he counters. “And I want you with us. You, with your wasted potential. You could be leading warriors, not warming his bed.”

For a split second, the offer is tempting. So tempting it terrifies me.

“You’re insane,” I say, but my voicecks conviction.

He hears it too. His smile widens, “Am I? Or am I the only one brave enough to tell you the truth?” He reaches out, tucking a strand bof /bbhair /bbehind my ear with false tenderness. “He’s using you, Jess. Keeping youpliant with sweet words about being his bLuna /bbwhile /bbmaking /bbsure /byou never reach your true potential.”

I p his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

“Fine.” He steps back, hands raised in mock surrender. “But think about it. What kind of mate sabotages your bdreams/bb? /bbWhat /bbkind /bbof /bbAlpha /bblies /b

b3/4 /b

Chapter b54 /b

bto /bbhis /bbpeople/bb?/b”

“I bneed /bbto /bbgo/bb./bb” /bI bsay/b, bdesperate /bbto /bescape his poisonous words before they take root.

b“Running /bback to him already?” Theo calls after me as I turn to leave. “Tell me this, Jess if he really respected byou/bb, /bbwhy /bdidn’t he truth from the beginning? Why the games?”

bI /bstop, his words hitting their mark. Why hadn’t Grayson told me? Why let me believe I still

had a chance?

“When you’re ready to join us, you know where to find me,” Theo says softly. “We could use someone with your fire. bAnd /bbI /bbpromise/b, bno /bbone /bwill ever hold you back again.”

I run without answering, his offer echoing in my head like a siren’s call.